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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAdministrative Order No. 1997-01 Parking Enforcement Policies and Procedures ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER NO. 1997-01 The City of Bozeman's Parking Enforcement Policies and Procedures, attached hereto, are hereby adopted. " / Dated this 12-1). day of ~~..Q^ 1997. , K&-<-<- ~~ RON BREY 7"- Acting City Manager - PARKING ENFORCEMENT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES I. Parking Enforcement Authority A. The City of Bozeman has the authority under Montana law to regulate and prevent the use or obstruction of streets, and reasonably regulate the standing or parking of vehicles. B. The City has properly enacted ordinances establishing specific on-street parking and parking lot restrictions. C. A determination of enforcement policies and procedures is authorized and necessary to effect the City's parking regulations. II. Enforcement A. The police division shall enforce the prOVJSIOnS of the parking laws and ordinances and issue citations for the violations thereof. B. Whenever any motor vehicle is found parked or stopped in violation of any of the restrictions imposed by the laws of this City or by State law, the parking officer finding such vehicle shall take its registration number and may take any other information displayed on the vehicle which may identify its owner, and shall conspicuously affix to such vehicle a notice in writing, on a form provided, for the owner to answer to the charge against him within seven days, during the hours and at a place specified in the notice. C. Citations for parking violations will be entered into the Duncan Management System (DMS) via the handheld units issued to the parking officers. All citation information will be downloaded to the City's mainframe computer, connected to the finance department via PC modem. Original copies of handwritten tickets issued when handheld units are unavailable will be filed with the finance department and downloaded to the mainframe computer. D. Parking officers will assist in the adjudication of all parking violations as described in the appeals procedure set forth below and, when required, in the prosecution of those persons violating parking regulations. III. Administration A. The finance department shall receive all money paid as tines, and shall file and keep records of all citations issued. If a violator of the restrictions on stopping, standing, or parking under the regulations does not appear in response to a citation within a period of seven days, the finance department 1 shall send to the owner of the vehicle identified a written notice informing him of the violation and warning him that in the event such written notice is disregarded for a period of fourteen days a summons and complaint will be issued. B. The finance department shall administer the appeals procedure as set forth below. Citations that are appealed but remain contested after processed through the appeal procedure will be transmitted by the finance department to the City Attorney's office for prosecution in City Court. IV. Appeals A. An appeal is defined as a timely request by an individual to whom a parking citation has been issued for review of and decision on a contested citation. B. A person making a timely appearance in response to a citation or notice may file an appeal. Each appeal will be submitted separately. Appeals shall be administered in the following manner: 1. Step 1. A person wanting to appeal a citation must appear before the finance department and request the appropriate form. The form must be completed and signed by the responsible party, and returned to the finance department. The appeal should set forth a short and plain statement specifYing the basis for the appeal. Any documentation the appellant wishes to be considered in the appeal must be attached and submitted simultaneously with the form. 2. Step 2. The finance department, upon receipt of the written and signed appeal, shall review the form for completeness. Incomplete fOlms may be returned to appellants, subject to resubmittal. 3. Step 3. The finance department will conduct an initial review of all appealed citations to determine if they are complete and accurate, or if they contain inadequate or inaccurate information which materially affects the citation. A citation which is incomplete or inaccurate, or which requires amendment in a matter of substance, may be summarily dismissed. Citations requiring amendment as to form only may be dismissed only at the direction of the citing officer, or the City Attorney's office. An amendment is one of form and not substance when the same offense is charged, the element(s) of the offense remain the same, and the appellant is informed of the offense charged. The finance department shall send written notice informing appellants of a decision summarily dismissing a citation, and make the 2 appropriate entJy into the DMS closing the citation. 4. Step 4. An appeal not summarily dismissed or otherwise resolved in the preceding steps will be forwarded, along with any supporting documentation, to the officer who issued the citation. The officer, using the form furnished to appellant, shall review the statement and documentation of the appellant, and provide a written response. The response shall be in the form of one of three alternatives: a. A willingness to accept the reasons stated in the appeal as a reasonable .iustification for the dismissal of the citation; b. A willingness to dismiss the citation on conditions stated; or c. An unwillingness to accept the reasons stated in the appeal as justification for dismissal, and an intent to seek continued enforcement of the citation. Officer's responses shall be provided on the same form initially furnished to the appellant, and returned to the finance department within a period of seven days. A response indicating a willingness to dismiss on conditions stated will include direction to the finance department of condition(s) that should be met, to the satisfaction of the finance department, before the citation will be dismissed. Such conditions may include, but are not limited to, production of additional infotmation or documentation supporting the underlying basis for appeal. A response indicating an unwillingness to dismiss will be accompanied by request for prosecution and affidavit of probable cause (RFP). 5. Step 5. Upon receipt of the officer's response the finance department will complete a Decision Action Notice to be served on the appellant. The following are the possible actions of which appellant will receive notice: a. The appeal is granted and the citation dismissed. Appeals which have been granted will be entered into the DMS and the citation will be closed. b. The appeal is denied. In such cases the notice will provide that appellant must pay the fine indicated on the original citation within ten days, or a summons and complaint will be issued. If payment is received it will be entered into the DMS and the citation will be closed. If payment is not received within the 3 ten days the citation, appeal form, RFP, and Decision Notice will be submitted to the City Attorney's office as a Request for Prosecution. The citation will then be fe-entered into DMS as an "open appeal". c. The appeal will be granted and the citation dismissed on conditions stated. A notice of such action will provide that the decision to grant or deny the appeal will be based on further response from the appellant. Upon receipt of appellant's response the finance department will make a determination of whether the stated condition(s) have been met. If the conditions have been met to the satisfaction of the finance department, the citation will be dismissed and the appropriate entry made into the DMS closing the citation. If the condition(s) are not met to the satisfaction of the finance department, the notice provided in subparagraph (b) will be served on the appellant. Failure to provide a response within ten days will result in denial of the appeal, and the notice provided in subparagraph (b) will be served on the appellant. C. "Open Appeals" t. When no appearance is made on a citation, and no response is made to a written notice from the finance depattment, the citation will be transmitted to the City Attorney's office for prosecution in City Court. In such cases the citation v.,rin be entered into the DMS as an "open appeal". 2. All citations that are appealec but remain contested after processed through the appeal procedure will be transmitted by the finance department to the City Attorney!; office for prosecution in City Court, and entered into the DMS as an "open appeal". 3. The City Attorney's office will provide notice to the finance department of all citations which it dl clines to prosecute so that such citations may be entered into the DM3 and closed. 4. The City COllrt will provide notice to tht. finance department of the ultimate disposition of all citations filed as ,:omplaints, and report the amount of fines collected upon conviction of such complaints. Upon receipt of the report the finance department w'ill enter the disposition into the OMS. 4